{thankful vol. 14} peace

Today marks the day that my loving husband and I have been married for three years.  

Warning: I got picture happy for this post...

And even though time goes by much too fast it is always a blessing to look back at where time has taken us.  Like Daniel's brother's wedding in 2007 where all I wished was to be his bride. 

Or the many trips he made to visit me up at college.  (You are lucky I'm revealing these pictures, all squishy nose and all!)

To the night he proposed.  Yes, those are fake eyelashes.  We had just come from a wedding I was a bridesmaid in, they just add to the dewey eye effect.

To the weekend we spent celebrating our engagement in Santa Barbara. 

To the dress that I will continue to love over and over again, the earrings my grandmother passed down to me, the anxiety that overcame me as I got ready.

To the tears of joy that overflowed as I walked down the aisle, knowing I was marrying to best friend and forever love.

To our first communion as husband and wife.

I've been thinking a lot about this past year of marriage.  Each year we always seem to tackle something big, whether it's finishing my credential, Daniel graduating college, landing my career job, buying our first car together, establishing long-lasting friendships....  

For some reason this year doesn't seem so big when I look back on those things.  We got through a year of graduate school, continued to plug along at our same jobs, and for the most part everything seemed to stay the same.  As I thought about this I was reminded about something I read recently in a book I'm going through right now.  Lysa Turkeurst writes in her book Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl:

"The world has made 'love' a dime-store word used to describe a feeling that can change with the wind.  The world's offering of joy, hope, and love is fleeting, temporary, and dangerously unstable"

"The peace that flows despite circumstances can only be found through Jesus being with us.  That's why Jesus phrased it the way He did, 'Peace be with you!'"

The things that I defined as successes in our marriage were mearly romanticized earthly treasures that are temporary and fleeting.  This year we gained a deeper sense of PEACE, not only about our marriage but about life.  This was the year of US.  We dived deeper into one another to create a stronger unit together, we challenged ourselves to be better for the other person, we became a selfless team.  This year has been one of my favorites because we have been able to truly enjoy one another, learn together, find new hobbies together, and have fun.  I wouldn't have been able to balance work, school, and life without the comfort of my hilarious husband offering up jokes to even me out and dish-duty to ease the stress.  It feels as though we can conquer anything because of how strong and connected we are together as a family.  

I am so extremely blessed to venture into more peaceful memories together with my forever love.

Happy Anniversary babe!

11.15.11